The prevalent angle that much of the media has been spinning in the presidential election is their stress on the fact that, next year, we will either have a Black president or a female vice president. Either way – isn’t it fantastic how far we’ve come?

In 2012, rather than looking at a thrift store that has seen better days, we will see a 10-acre retail area. Detractors have called it an impersonal “mall” — stating that it will damage family-owned businesses in Little Saigon, driving away some of the character that makes the International District unique.